brewing a half pot

[brian]

I've been brewing in my 9 oz. kyusu, and usually make a full pot and then share it with somebody in the house. This seems a nice sized cup for me, it doesn't go cold before I finish it and I can do a few infusions and have a few of these half-pots without getting too full.

So, question -- when there's nobody to share, is it ok to just brew a half pot, using half of my usual measure of leaf and water? I guess what I'm really wondering, is there anything "magical" about having the pot completely full while the tea steeps?

I'm most interested re: sencha, but comments on any tea are welcome!

[beachape]

Make sure you tap the leaves down after a pour. Otherwise you'll be fine. Don't think anyone will call the tea police on ya.

[Geekgirl]

I do this for sencha, mainly because my pots are so well made that they steam seal anyways, even with 1/2 pot. (Just had sencha, brewed 6-7 oz in 10 oz pot.)

For oolongs in yixing or gaiwan, I use a pot (or cup) the same size as what I want to pour into, because I prefer a water seal. YMMV. Personal preference is King.

[brian]

Thanks beachape, good advice. My Den's kyusu has a wrap-around metal screen, so the leaves do tend to stick up high after a pour of sencha. I'll pay attention to that when doing less than full pots.

geekgirl, the gaiwan is exactly what got me wondering about this. I've been doing a bit of oolong and shou puerh in a gaiwan, which results in a nice sized cup for one drinker. Started thinking about doing smaller amounts of sencha, and figured the gaiwan wouldn't work so well for that type of leaf. Interested in your comments about the seal -- is this for less temperature loss during the steep, or a leak-less pour, or ??? I'm curious now, I'll have to see how well my cheap kyusu seals when less than full.

[bsteele]

Who are you, Willy Wonka?